Italian After Dark at Gemelli's

While I wouldn’t think that northwest Denver would be the best spot in the world for a late-night menu, Gemelli's owner Ken Griffin apparently feels differently. Back when I was doing my review of the then just six-month-old restaurant at 4363 Tennyson Street, this plan was still just a twinkle in Griffin’s eye, but now he's ready to put it into effect.

“This weekend, I think,” Griffin told me when I asked when (and if) he was still considering keeping the joint open late. “We’re actually in the kitchen working on the menu right now. Wait a minute. Let me talk to the boss…”

After a few moments of muffled conversation, he came back on the line and told me that, yeah, it looked like they were going to give it a go this weekend. “The patio is jammed," he said. "And it’s supposed to be pretty warm this weekend. People are out more now, on the street.”

Griffin and his crew are planning to take down the full menu around 10 p.m. and replace it with a scaled-back, late-night menu full of little snacks that would go perfectly with a last glass of wine. Antipasto, prosciutto and melon, polenta cakes, meatball sliders -- that kind of thing -- along with a bolstered lineup of desserts, including the house tiramisu and spumoni and slices of mango cheesecake.

“Dinners have been pretty steady now,” Griffin told me. “Lunches are starting to pick up. And yeah, I think, with the weather and the patio, people will be looking for something like this.”

Here’s to hoping you’re right, boss. And I do have to say, to a nice plate of prosciutto, a little melon and a glass of Moscato? That sounds pretty good right about now. -- Jason Sheehan